Making the appointment to move forward on getting your affairs in order is huge. I think many people feel unwilling to move forward with making a will until they are clear on who they would name as beneficiaries, guardians or even health care surrogates. The funny thing about that is that if it is unclear to you now while you are living it is going to be even more unclear to those family members left behind when you are no longer here.
Families are messy, relationships are messy and that is the greatest news of all. Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a beautiful sunrise service with my daughter and friends and then an Easter Brunch with extended family and friends. The sermon was on the mess and the sadness of the burning of Notre Dame and the mess and the sadness of Holy week. The conclusion for me was that faith is what keeps us going, faith that the church will be rebuilt, and faith that religious beliefs are not for naught.
The Easter Brunch was a wonderful opportunity to watch family and friends come together and enjoy fabulous food and childish egg hunt fun. Our family has all the things that family has. It has heartache from divorce and death and it has love and joy from births and partnerships. There was space during the gathering to talk with those I have not seen since we moved back to Miami, to meet new spouses and loved ones. To watch people who I remember as teenagers now navigating parenthood and their parents evolving as grandparents.
The facts of how these people are related either by love or by blood are complex. However you can not tell this by looking at the photos. The photos are of children laughing and adults enjoying the afternoon. It is going to be unclear how the people left behind will navigate once you are no longer here. However, I am certain that your heart will be lighter if you move forward and begin making plans. Make the appointment to begin putting your plans in place, there is never going to be a perfect time to do it.